Her Father's Daughter
by bendingwind
Summary: A series of oneshots featuring Rory Williams and River Song. Spoilers for 6x07. #1-in which Rory has a little chat with the Doctor.
1. The Talk

Title: and by a part of all thy glory live  
>Author: bendingwind<br>Notes: [Doctor Who | K+/PG | 463 words]  
>Characters: River, Rory<br>Summary: River tells her father everything.

* * *

><p>Rory surveys the room with narrowed eyes as he prepares for the approach. Amy is curled up, asleep, in a chair safely on the opposite side of the console room. River is also here, sitting beside Amy and drawing, secretively, in her blue diary. He watches them for a moment and then, with a deep breath, approaches the Doctor.<p>

"Sooo, Doctor," he says, leaning against the console with a care not to move any switches, levers, buttons, and/or kitchen utensils, "We should, er, talk. About stuff."

"Stuff, stuff is good, I like stuff…" the Doctor mumbles, peering at something that appears suspiciously like a jumping rope. He adjusts it slightly and Rory decides to barrel on.

"So… you and River…"

He can tell at once that he has the Doctor's attention by the way the Doctor stiffens and then, very slowly, straightens up to face him.

"Er, what about, erm, me and her?" he asks, scratching his cheek nervously.

"Well, it seems like you two… you know…" The Doctor's cheek-scratching intensifies. "I just want you to know that I'm okay with you and her, you know—"

The Doctor's eyes widen with sheer horror. "We're just friends, honestly!" he says, and he is such a poor liar that Rory can't help but chuckle.

"Maybe for now," Rory says, because even if he did not raise his daughter he knows her better than anyone. "Don't worry, Amy and I are okay with it. We figure you might be the only person in the universe even close to good enough for her."

"Oh… well… that's… that's nice," the Doctor stutters, looking more than slightly flustered.

"But the more important thing is," and Rory buckles up to take the plunge and leans forward, "if you hurt her _I will end you_. Got it?"

The Doctor leans back, looking more than a little alarmed. "Oh. Oh! That is… I mean… heh heh… the Last Centurion, of course I wouldn't mess with your daughter, I—I—"

"Good." Rory leans in again and pats the Doctor cheerfully on the shoulder before he walks away. If he entertains a tiny smirk, it's not _at all_ because of the look on the Doctor's face when he realized his future father-in-law was giving him _the talk._


	2. and by a part of all thy glory live

Title: and by a part of all thy glory live  
>Author: <strong>bendingwind<strong>  
>Notes: [Doctor Who | K+PG | 463 words]  
>Characters: River, Rory<br>Summary: River tells her father everything.

* * *

><p>"Do you know who I am yet?" she asks, stepping out of the shadows. Rory jumps, startled, and drops his watering tin.<p>

"I, er, I was just… tidying up a bit…"

She moves further into the light, revealing tired bags beneath her eyes and salt-stained cheeks. His heart sinks for the daughter he so rarely meets.

"Oh, beautiful, what's wrong?" he asks, opening his arms. She rushes forward into his embrace.

"I was afraid I might have come too early," she mumbles into his shoulder, "I missed you, Dad."

"It's okay," he says as he strokes her back, grateful that his bewildered stare is hidden behind her curls. He waits for her to speak—she tells him everything, when she's ready.

After a moment, she pulls away. He leads her to the lawn chairs and they sit, facing each other across a dainty lawn table.

"I broke my promise," she all but whispers. "I said I wouldn't leave Stormcage unless he called for me but… I wanted to talk to you." He notices that her hand is shaking on the table, and lays his own across it.

"I'm sure he would understand," he says, hoping she can't sense his lie. Their stories are always touching in the wrong order, their conversations always brushing against secrets she cannot tell him yet.

"He died today," she explains, a curious mixture of awe and heartbreak twining through her tone. "Not forever, he has a new body, but he's not… he's not _my_ Doctor anymore."

"But he's still _the_ Doctor," Rory points out, and he worries immediately that it's too logical a thing to say.

She lets out a sound halfway between a sob and a laugh, and he instinctually leans closer, ready to hold her if she begins to cry again.

"He is, but he isn't quite. His voice… it isn't the same, and he doesn't laugh the same way when I do something dangerous and his—" she stops as if she barely caught herself. Rory's ears flush red just considering what she might have been about to say.

"He's the same man," Rory says, this time with more conviction. The Doctor is the same man in the same way his little girl is the same, no matter how many bodies she dons. He squeezes her fingers and leans closer. "He's the same man in the way you are the same woman, no matter how many faces you wear."

Her eyes flutter closed. "I know, Dad, I know, but… _he doesn't laugh in the same way._"

Rory lifts his other hand and carefully takes her chin in his hand. He waits for her to open her eyes, and when she does, he says: "Neither do you. Everyone grows up someday, River." And he smiles.


End file.
